    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book III)]
    [December 6, 2004]
    [Pages 3049-3050]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following Discussions With King Abdullah II of Jordan
    December 6, 2004

        President Bush. Your Majesty, welcome back to the Oval Office. It is
    my honor to receive you here again. And every time you come, I enjoy our
    conversations, and I'm impressed by the progress that your good country
    is making.
        Today we had a chance to talk about the Jordanian economy and the
    growth of the economy. And the amount of trade between our countries is
    growing, which is to the benefit of the Jordanian people as well as to
    the American people. And I appreciate your leadership.
        We also talked about, of course, Iraq. I expressed my strong belief
    that the Iraqi elections must go forward on time. And I appreciate His
    Majesty listening to my beliefs. And I assured His Majesty that the
    United States and my Government will be involved with Middle Eastern
    peace and that I believe that two states living side by side in peace, a
    Palestinian state and an Israeli state, is necessary for there to be
    peace and that we have a moment, a window of opportunity, and I intend
    to work very closely with His Majesty to seize that moment for the good
    of the Palestinian people and for the good of the Israelis, so that we
    can achieve peace that I know is on your mind.
        So welcome, sir. I'm really glad to have you back.
        King Abdullah. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. We're delighted
    to be back here and to thank you, Mr. President, for, really, the
    outstanding support that you are giving our part of the world, and the
    President's dedication to bring hope and peace, hopefully, to Israelis
    and Palestinians. I know that you have been committed in the past 4
    years in identifying a future for the Israelis and the Palestinians and
    the Israelis and the Arabs. And again, the President today brought home
    to me how important that is. And I'm very delighted with that strong
    stand that you've always taken for a better Middle East.
        As you mentioned, sir, we talked about the future of Iraq, and we
    work very closely together to bring a transition in Iraq as quickly as
    possible and a future for the Iraqi people. And I tremendously
    appreciate the effort that you've given all of us and your vision for a
    better world for all of us in our part of the world.
        Thank you.
        President Bush. Thank you, sir. Welcome. Appreciate you. Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:10 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House.

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